Residents of the Garu and Tempane districts, dissatisfied with the power situation in their areas, took to the streets to express their discontent. In a petition addressed to the District Chief Executives (DCEs) of the two districts, the residents explained that they felt unfairly treated by the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo).
“The least our leaders can do for us in the Garu-Tempane area is to give us a stable power supply that will enable us to engage in our economic activities. For the past four years, it is as if the people of the Garu-Tempane area have offended someone in the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO), for which we are being punished for our wrongdoing. Before I talk about the devastating effects of the frequent power outages, kindly indulge me in talking about the difficulties we go through before acquiring electricity in our homes.”
“Acquiring an electricity metre in Garu-Tempane has become a matter of whom you know or the highest bidder. People have applied for metres for the last three years and do not even know the outcome of their applications. Another issue that borders us is the cost of extending electricity to our homes. It has become so costly that many homes are without electricity in the area. To crown everything, there are the frequent, unannounced power outages we have experienced in the area for the past four years. Since 2018, we, the people of the Garu-Tempane area, have not known anything called stable power during rainy seasons. As soon as the rain sets in, we experience power outages, even if there is no rain. To quote a very good friend of mine, “Even if a bat urinates, it is enough to cause a power outage.”
The residents emphasised the hardships caused by the unreliable power situation. However, the situation may soon improve as the Upper East Regional Director of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Seth Kponyo, shared that the commission has taken an interest in the issue. Mr. Kponyo mentioned that an agreement had been reached between the residents, NEDCo, and the Regional Security Council to address the problem.
During an interview with A1 Radio’s Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show, Mr. Kponyo assured listeners that the power situation in Garu-Tempane would become more stable moving forward. He highlighted interventions, such as the presence of personnel at the BSP point in Bawku overnight, as measures to address the issue. Kponyo emphasised the commission’s commitment to ensuring service providers deliver high-quality service to residents.
“This morning you were talking about the situation in Garu and all those areas up to Nalerigu, Gambaga, Bunkprugu. That issue has come to the attention of the PURC. We’ve had several engagements with NEDCo and finally, NEDCo, together with the Regional Security Council, there has been a solution. There’s going to be protection at the BSP point in Bawku so that someone would be there overnight.”
“These are some of the interventions of the Commission. We ensure that the service providers continue to give us the greatest quality of service,” he said.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
